Prepared to Answer

How many people do you personally know that claim to be followers of Christ, Christians, if you like, that have spoken words similar to this to you, “I don’t want to shove Jesus down their throat.”

I know that in their mind they are trying to be polite, it is the order of the day to never offend in any possible way, but I would ask this question of you then, what did you say to them? Did you ask them, “How many people have you spoken to about Christ this week,” or even this month. I think that if you had the courage to do so, you would be left with no one to speak to after a short period of time, at least from those that you associate with who call themselves Christians.

It does not matter how many verses you have memorized; it means absolutely nothing if you have every book of the Bible committed to memory, there is no blessing in that from the Lord, the blessings are given to those who do.

Those whom you have spoken to, presuming you are not the one that believes offering even a verse or two, or an inference to the Savior is “shoving it down their throats,” what excuse have they given you, they are too busy, its not their place, they haven’t had an opportunity, they do not feel called, what excuse have they given you and what has been your response to them.

We are to go to the lost, (Mark 16:15) this is not a suggestion, this is a commandment, this verse is not just for the pastor or the hierarchy within the church, it is for every single born-again believer. Recall here, if you can, when was the last time you heard your pastor speak on this subject, and not just in passing, but in context and in-depth, ever? Most will not anymore, to attempt to get the congregation to actually obey the Word of God instead of just listening to it today is almost an impossibility, and every excuse that was just presented in this letter to you, plus countless others, will be given for not preaching on the subject, and by those sitting, as it were, on their hands Sunday morning to Sunday morning. Now, out of all those excuses, find one that the Lord will agree with on that person’s day of accounting, (Romans 14:12) none, and then tell them that.

One of two things will happen, they will hate you, politely, or they will fall on their face in repentance, asking the Lord to forgive them of their shame of His name. My guess is you know which one will happen. Now comes the tough part, are you judging righteously by doing so. We cannot see into people’s hearts as the Lord does, no matter how long we have known them, but we can quite easily see their fruits, their labor for the Lord in this area, their works, and in this we are not judging them, but are instead showing them the truths of the Scriptures.

All selfishness, all malice of forethought, all reasons for bringing the subject up must be for one reason only, that God will be glorified. “None of your business” will almost always be their answer, just not with those exact words and always in a polite way, but it is their answer, nonetheless. You have put them on the spot, they have been found out, and since you are the one that has shown them the truth about themselves, you are the one to blame.

The Lord is not going to ask what you read, what you memorized, or even how often you contemplated Him and His Word, He is going to want to know what you did for Him. Hopefully, you will not have one single excuse prepared.